Blade handling device



J. MUROS BLADE HANDLING DEVICE v Nav-.16, .1948y Filed may 24, 194s yi2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. A16,' 194& J. MUROS 2,454,197

f BLADE HANDLING DEVICE` I Filed May 24. 1945 l l 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Nov. 1.6, 1948 UNITED STATES PAT ENT i Y j 2,454,197v c nanvunegpnvice Joseph Muros,j Cambridge, Mass.,l assignor to Gillette Safety' Razor Company; Boston', Mass.,

. a corporation olf-Delaware l Applicaties Mer 2.4., 194e. Serial No.; aseos.

i 18 Claims.

handling device having several, related and Simili-- taneous functions;` the first placa it.. Serves as a. dispensing blade. package fer a Singleeaietv razor blade, apekase in which the 'blade may be safely enclosed 'ev the manuiaeturer and. maintained by the dealer and user Withoutdanr. ser to its geen edge or edges. 11.1. the. eeeendi place, it servesas an insertor by whichfthe fresh sharp blade may be inserted in a saiety razor Without danger of its being touched by the user, the blade being .deposited accurately in shaving, position. In the` third place,` the device serves as a receiver for a used blade, engaging it in the razor and withdrawing it in fully guarded con-Y dition. Andnally, it serves as an expendable guard which may be thrown away with the usedV blade and so provides a'satisiactory solution for the problem of safe disposition of used blades. The devicemay also be used as aguard for theA assembled razor, or rather, as aV guard for a blade, located in a safety razor. y'

In one aspect, the blade-handling device of my invention comprises a, thin, elongated body havl.

ing on one face a fresh blade held in place by means which permit the blade to be detached and removed from the device, preferably in an endwise direction, and on theother face, means/ such for example as spaced projections, for `grip'- png the Opposite edges of e used. blade.- It iS. believed that the provision oi blade-.engaging means on opposite sides ef. a thin. Stili bladef handling device is broadly novel and the related and supplementary functions of delivering fresh` blades and collecting used blades have T1017. been heretofore combined in a single blade-handling device of this general type. l

An important feature of the invention oo nsists in the manner of mounting the fresh blade upon one face ofthe blade-handling device. is herein shown,V co-operating sheets of cardboard or other somewhat resilient members are secured together in advance of or beyond the edges oi thed blade interposed between them. These'members may fit against the beveled faces of the blade edge or the Vheel of the bevel while leaving its extreme cutting edge entirely free and clear of contact. This results from the fact that the blade-engaging sheets are directed to a line of intersection substantially outside and beyond the line of the cutting edgeand converge at an angle more acute than that of the blade bevel. The fresh blade may be thus temporarily and detachably held in itsV position andis at the same time free to be removed from the blade-holding d evice by movement relatively to the device in" an endwise direction. w

It is important to locate the fresh blade on one side of the blade-holding device in predetermined relation to guiding means provided on the other (Cl. SiO-.40%

side of the device for registering i-t with one o the blade-clamping members of the safety razor with whichv it is to be employed.

Preferably and as herein shown, the upper face oij the bladehandli-ng device is provided with means, s uch as parallel ways, which have the double function off guiding the device as a whole into operative relation with the razorY head byj engaging.. the edges ef.. the razones and; providing means for engagingthe opposite edges oi a used blade already lQQatcd' beneath the 0.3i).

, These, and'other features of the invention will bebest understood and appreciated from the following description of two preferred embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of' illustravtion and shown in the accompanying drawings,

in which:

device containing asin-gie safety razor blade ready for distribution, the device being shown enlargedto substantially twice its natural size and in inverted position;

Eig. 2- is a corresponding View oi the devicein the position in which it is used;

Fig. 3- isa view in cross-section on the line- 3-3 orV Fig. 1';

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View in cross-section on a still greater scale;

Fig. 5 is a 'View in perspective illustrating the step of moving the blade-handling device intov blade transferring relation to the head of a safety razor;

Fig. 6 is a cor-responding view of the safety razor and blade-handling device as seenfyrom beneath; i

Fig. '7 is a view in cross-section on the line l--T of Fig. 8;-

Fig. 8 is a view in longitudinal section on the device fully inserted;

Fig. .9A is a View in perspective showing a blade in position upon the blade-supporting member or guard of' the razor; Y

Fig. 10 is a View in perspective of a second embodiment of the invention in inverted position;

Fig. `ll is a view in cross-section on the lineA Y line 8 8` of Fig. 6- but shows the blade-handling material stiff enough to be pushed inwardly' between .the cap and guard of a safety razor. Itcomprises a solid elongated body [Ill approximately rectangular infshape although preferably rounded at its rear end and having;

a short wide tongue `centrally disposed in itsn square front end. In one face of the body I is provided a rectangular recess l I, shown uppermost in Fig. 2, which opens through the front end of the device above its tongue and is defined by parallel ribs or anges I2 and I3 forming undercut ways and an inner transverse end wall I4. This gives the device relatively thick and stiff edge portions connected by a thinner inter` mediate web. The device herein shown is designed to handle double-edged slotted blades of a Well-known commercial type, closed at both ends and having a longitudinal median slot I1 with local enlargements, as best shown in Fig. 9. The recess II in the face of the device is of proper dimensions to receive such a blade while the flanges I2 and-I3 grip it friotonally by edge engagement, thus holding it with its slot in unobstructed position on the face of the body Il) and with both sharp edges completely guarded.

For convenience and to prevent confusion, that face of the blade-handling device upon which the *new blade is mounted may be marked New Blade andthe flanged face of the device, which is eventually to receive a used blade, may be marked Used Blade. In Figs. 2, 5, 6 and '1, the used blade face of the device is shown uppermost and will be herein termed the upper face.

The lower face of the web is provided centrally with a shallow longitudinal channel I Which opens through the tongue in the front end edge of the device. A slotted double-edged blade I6 is temporarily secured to this face of the body Ill, being symmetrically disposed below the web and with the channel I5 providing a clearance space above the blade slot I1 for the blade-locating projections of the razor head. As herein shown, the blade I6 is secured in position by a exible cover sheet I8 of paper, fibre or the like, and this is cemented about its margins to the lower face of the body I and overlaps both edge portions of the blade I6. The sheet I3 is provided with a central slot IS] of substantially the same width as the channel I5 so that the outline of the blade slot I1, with its intermediate enlargements, is fully exposed.

It will be understood that the blade manufacturer may place the fresh sharp blade I6 accurately vin position upon the lower face of the body I0 and then secure it in that location by cementing the margin of the cover-sheet I8 in place. Theblade is thus located symmetrically and accurately with respect to the flanges I2 and I3 and this isimportant, since the proper positioning of the device as a whole for blade delivery is determined by the undercut ways of these anges. The cover sheet I8 may be cemented to the lower face of the body Ill nearly up to the sharp edges of the blade I6, but the sheet can never be brought actually into contact with the cutting edge of the blade, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, because the bevel of the extreme blade edge is less acute than the angle between the upper and lower blade-engaging elements as they converge into contact along a line outside the cutting edge. They provide in effect parallel ways upon the lov/er face of the body Ill for guiding the fresh blade Ain endwise movement, but without touching its cutting edges.

In Figs. 5-9 is shown one type of safety razor adapted to be served by the blade-handling device of my invention. This razor comprises a handle 20 carrying ablade-supporting or guard member 2l having an upper convex blade-supporting face. A cap member 22 is detachably connected to the guard 2| by an Y arm 23 which extends around and beneath one end of the guard and is forked to engage the upper end of the handle 2. A forked spring 24 fastto the under face of the cap tends normally ,to separatethe cap and guard to the extent permitted by the arm 23 and thus to provide a blade passage between them. The cap 22 is provided with a central threaded socket 25 and with this co-operates a threaded spindle 26 telescopically received Within the handle. The guardmember 2l is centrally perforated to permit passage of the threaded spindle 26 and is provided with a longitudinal upstanding rib 21 symmetrically disposed in one end of the bladeseat and supplemented by a shallow diamondshaped stud 28 which is of the proper shape to ll one of the enlargements of the slot I1 in the blade.v

The blade-engaging face of the razor cap 22 is somewhat concave in cross-section and its longitudinal edges lit in the undercut ways formed bythe ribs I2 and I3 of the blade handling device, as Well shown in Fig. 7. The blade is positioned on the guard 2 I, as shown in Fig. 9, being located centrally by the rib 21 and slightly overhanging the guard 2l at both ends of the razor. When it is desired to replace a used blade in the razor, the end tongue of the blade-handling device is brought into contact with the under face of the projecting end of the used blade I6', lifting it slightly from the blade seat but always enough to free it from the shallow stud 28 and to permit the advancing end of the fresh blade I6 to be inserted in the razor head beneath the used blade I6 and above the blade-seat, In this operation the undercut guideways of the ribs I2 and I3 in the upper face of the blade-handling device are registered with the longitudinal edges of the cap 22, and the device is accurately guided by the edges of the cap so that the fresh blade I6 passes beneath the used blade I6' and becomes fully and accurately seated upon the blade-seat of the razor with its slot I1 fitting the rib 21 and an intermediate enlargement of the slot tting the shallow stud 28. Meanwhile the used blade has passed into the recess II above the web in the body of the blade-handling device and in this as shown in Fig. 5 the fresh blade has been advanced over the rib 21 and halfway along the blade seat of the razor, while the used blade I6' has been advanced half-way into the recess II. In Fig. 8 the blade-handling device is shown as advanced to its final position, the used blade I6 having engaged the inner end wall I4 of the recess II and the fresh blade I6 having received the rib 21 and being fully seated and positively held in shaving position on the blade-seat.

If desired, and as herein shown, the front edge of the cover sheet I8 may be extended downwardly in the form of tongues 29 over the shoulders of the outer end of the blade I6. These tongues positively retain the blade in place but may be easily broken when the device is retracted from the razor head, leaving the blade positioned therein for shaving.

Now, when the device is retracted, moving toward the right in Fig. 8, the used blade I6 remains gripped between the ribs I2 and I3 and is withdrawn with the device, while the fresh blade I5, positively held by the stud 28, remains in proper position on the blade-seat. The user has now only to screw down the spindle 26 to prepare aimerait Ablade-handling device containing onlythefus'ed blade in fully' guarded condition.

A second embodiment of the invention is'illus--` trated in Figs. -13 in which the bladeehandling device or insertor is-shown as having an elongated body portion 30 rounded at its rear end and notched in its forward end to provide a profeet'- ing tongue 3|` designed to underlie the elongated unsharpened end portion of' a; new blade I6. body 30 is provided inv its longitudinal edges with opposed inturned ilanges4 32 and 33" shaped to"` engage the bevel of the new blade IB- but not `its cutting edge as clearly indicated inVFig. 1v1. The body 30 is provided with a longitudinal'slot 3'4, herein shown, but not necessarily, somewhaty shorter than the length of the blade slot |11, and in general providing clearance for any projection in the razor designed to pass-'through thev slot I1 or the enlargements therein.'

The flanges extend for about one-half the length of the blade edge and a tongue 3'5 is struck.

out of the material of the rounded end portion ofl the body 30 and turned in so as to overlap and hold the solid inner end portion of the blade. The new blade is thus detachably retained in the device by oppositely `disposed guideways which engage it frictionally while permitting it to be removed by endvvise movement, and by the end' tongue 35 whichpositively prevents its displacement rearwardly in the device.

The device is shown in Fig. 12 as being' provided with a second set of flanges 36 and 31 which are inturned over the upper face of the device and occupy that portion of the longitudinal edges thereof to the rear of the portion occupied by the inturned flanges 32--33 on the lower face 0f the device. The-flanges. and 31 are disposed somewhat closer together than thel flanges 32 and 33, being designed to retain a used blade I6 by gripping its sharpened edges. The forward ends of the flanges 36 and 31 are` flared somewhat up wardly and Youtwardly tovfacilitate entering the device in the head of a safety razor. 30 of the device comprises a wall or shield beneath which a new fresh blade is supported `and above which a used blade is engaged for removal from the safety razor. This embodiment ofthe invention may advantageously be constructed Vof sheet metal, Celluloid or other `material stiff enough to be pushed inwardly between the capl and guard of the safety razor.

In use, the 'device is brought up tothe head of a safety razor and the tongue 3| inserted beneath the projecting end of the used blade, lifting it upwardly from the blade-seat sufficiently to permit the entrance of the end of the fresh blade beneath it. The deviceor "insertor as it may be called, is advanced longitudinally until the fresh blade has fully settled itself in shaving position where it is positively held against retraction by the actionl of the shallow stud28 in filling one of the intermediate enlargements of the slot l1. In this movement, the end of theusedblade is passed above the body 3p ofthe ins'ertor-and its' edges enter between the flanges 36 and 31'. When the insertor has been moved to the inner limit The bOdy of its bevel, the used blade I6 is fully seated upony 6 The difference` between. the gripping action` ofi the flanges 3.2 and '33 on the beveled portion of the blade, butL noti itsf cutting edges, and the gripping action of the flanges-36 andi 3T, which is such as toduillfthe edges1 of' the used blade, is Well shown inl Figs.` 1`1 and 13.

Hav-ing' thus disclosed my invention and de scribed in detail illustrative embodiments thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patenti:

The combination of' asafety razor having separable cap and' guard with a blade-handling device comprising a thinf, stiff body having'on one face a sharpunused blade and means 4for' detacha ably retaining the blade whilev leaving it free tol be withdrawn in an endwise direction, and on its other face parallel Ways for guiding the device on the cap'. of a safety razor, whereby the said blade maybe located symmetrically beneath the cap.

The combination of a safety razor having separable cap and guard with a blade-handling device comprising an elongated' body havingA `on its lower face a sharp unused blade held for removal only' in an endwise direction, and on its upper face undercut Ways for guiding the device as a whole into registration with the cap of a safety razor and for engaging the opposite edges ofv a used blade in the safety razor.

3. The combination of a safety razor having separable cap and guard with a blade-dispensing device for a single safety razor blade, comprising an elongated body having thick edge portions connected by a thin intermediate web, parallel ways in said edge portions `for guiding the device as a whole into operative relation with a safety razor head, and a fresh blade detachably mounted in `partially exposed position on one face of the said web.

4. The combination of a safety razor 4having separable cap and guard with a blade-handling device for safety razor blades, comprisinga bodyhavingthick longitudinal edge portions and a thinvintermediate web, guidewaysin said edge portions lconstructed and arranged to make sliding contact with the edge portions of a safety razor and to locate Ysaid web above bladeeengaging` projections of the razor, and a fresh blade detachably in partiallyexposed position on the lower facel of said web. y

5. The combination of a safety razor having separable cap and `guard with a blade insertor having` an elongated body with parallel guideways on one face thereof and anapertured blade symmetrically disposed onitsother face; the safety razor cap having longitudinal edges fitting the guideways of the insertor, and a gua-rd member having projections so `located as to engage the blade thus `presented byv the insertor.

6. The combination of asafety razor having` separable capandguard with a blade insertor having an elongated body with parallel flanges on one `face thereof and a slotted blade symmetrically `disposed-on itsv other face, one `end of the blade being covered andthe other partially free; the safety razor caphavinglongitudinal edges ntting'betweenV said flanges, and a guard member maintained lin `parallel relation to the cap and provided 4with a rib forengaging the blade `slot when the flanges of theinsertor are engaged with the edges of the razor cap.

7. The combination of a safety `razor having separable blade clamping members with a`blad`ehandling device comprising athin elongated body shaped to `be uinserted'betweenthe cap and guard ora safety' razon-means `on one'face of said body agria-1er constructed and arranged to' receive and enga-ge the opposite edges of a blade presented endwise to said body and for retaining the blade thereon, a fresh blade held in exposed positionon the other face of said body, and means constructed andarranged to retain said fresh blade in position thereon and torelease it by endwise movement of said body in a direction opposite to that in which the used blade is received. i

8. The combination of a safety razor f having separable cap and guard with a blade-handling device according to claim '7, including means on said body for co-operation with the head of a safety razor constructed and arranged for guiding the device in its movement on said head.

9. The combination of a safety razor having separable cap and guard with a device for insertinga new blade intoa safety razor and for withdrawing a used blade therefrom, comprising a thin elongated body, means on one face of said body for receiving and retaining the used blade thereon with its cutting edge within the perimeter' of said body, a fresh blade onvthe other face of said body, and means for detachably retaining said fresh blade in exposed position thereon.

10. The combination of a safety razor having separable cap and guard with a device according to claim 9, including means on said body for guiding the device in its movement on the razor.

11. A blade dispensing and receiving device comprising an elongated body having a thin intermediate web bordered by thick longitudinal ribs having undercut opposed faces forming ways adjacent to one face of the web, the web having therein a shallow medial longitudinal channel in its other face, and a slotted closed-end blade detaohably mounted in direct contact with the said other face of the web with the channel providing clearance space vbeneath the slot of the blade.

12. A device for the introduction of a fresh sharp razor blade of the double-edge closed-end type into a razorhead and for the removal of a similar used blade from that razor head, comprising a thin elongated body having on one face longitudinal p-arallel flanges overlying the marginal edges of said body and being spaced to grip a used blade along its opposite edges and to guard said edges, a single fresh closed-end blade located in position directly on the other face of the thin body, and means for temporarily holding the fresh blade in said position, whereby a fresh and a used blade may be located between the cap and guard of a safety razor while the said blades have only the thin body of the device interposed between them. l

13. A blade dispensing and receiving device comprising a thin elongatedbody having on one face projections with oppositely arranged walls spaced apart and cooperating for engaging a double edged used blade along both its sharp edges and to guard the said edges, a single fresh closedend blade located in direct contact with the other face of said thin body and being so disposed that used and fresh blades may be located in close proximity to each other between the cap andy guard of a safety razor with only the thin body of the device interposed between them, and means for releasably retaining said fresh blade in posi-- tion upon the face of the thin body.

14. A blade dispensing and receiving device comprising a thin elongated body having on one face upstanding parallel ways stiffening the body andhaving opposed walls spaced apart to engage a used double-edged blade by its. opposite sharp. edges 4and completelyto guard `said edges, 'the other face of said body being substantiallyv smooth, a single fresh closed-end blade located in direct face-to-face contact with said other face and being so` disposed thereon that a used and a fresh blade may be located inl close proximity to each other between the cap and the guard of a safety razor with only the thin body of the device interposed between them, and means for releasably retainingsaid fresh blade in position without contacting its sharp edges.

' 15. An expendable blade dispensing and receivingpackage vhaving a thin elongated body portion, a fresh double-edged closed-end blade detachably Vmounted directly on one face of said thin body portion and in contact therewith, and longitudinal ribbed projections on the other face of said thin body portion having walls spaced apart and shaped to engage the opposite sharp edges of a similarbut used double-edged closedend blade and completely to guard both said edges, whereby a used and a fresh blade may be located in close superposed proximity to each other between the .blade-clamping members of a safety razor and with only the thin body of the device interposed between them.

.16. A device for the introduction of a fresh sharp razor blade ofthe duoble-edge closed-end type into a razor head and for the removal of asimilar used blade from that razor head, comprisinga substantially rectangular elongated body of thin sheet material of dimensions exceeding the length and breadth of said blades, said body having on its underside means for temporarily holding said fresh blade substantially wholly within the rectangular outline of said body and in contact with said underside, and a pair of opposed flanges extending alongside the longitudinal margins of said body and overlapping the upper surface thereof, said flanges being spaced progressively to embrace and guard the cutting edge regions of said used blade as the device is advanced into said razor head, whereby said fresh and said used blades may both be located in the razor head in close proximity to each other and separated only by the intervening thin body of thedevice.

1'7. kA device for introducing a fresh sharp razor blade of the double-edge closed-end type into a razor head and for removing a similar used blade from that razor head, comprising a substantially rectangular elongated body of thin sheet metal of dimensions exceeding the length and breadth of said blades, said body having a pilot projection in its front edge and on its underside means for temporarily holding said fresh blade substantially wholly within the rectangular outline of said body and in Contact with said underside, and a pair of opposed flanges inturned over the longitudinal margins of said body and overlapping the upper surface thereof, said flanges being adapted progressively to embrace and guard the cutting edge regions of said used blade as the device is advanced into said razor head and the pilot passes beneath the used blade, whereby said fresh and said used blades may both be located by the device in said razor head in close proximity to each other, being separated only by the thin sheet metal body of the intervening blade-handling device.

. 18. The combination of a safety razor having separable cap and guardV with a blade-handling device comprising a thin elongated body shapedv to be inserted between the cap and guard of a safety razor, means on one face of said body for receiving and retaining a used blade thereon,l said;

means cooperating with the head of the safety razor and being constructed and arranged for guiding the device in its movement on said head, a fresh blade on the other face of said body and means for detachably retaining said fresh blade in exposed position thereon.

JOSEPH MUROS.

REFERENCES CITED Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hutchings Dec. 20, 1910 Shannon June 18, 1912 Welch Aug. 21, 1923 Zeller Nov. 5, 1929 Hothersall Sept. 29, 1936 Monnet Oct. 14, 1941 Benjamin Dec. 22, 1942 

